Okay, first, I suppose I should ask whether your games tend to have PCs that rise to the position of "star," more or less.

If so, what do you do when the player of one of those PCs, for whatever reason, leaves the game?

That's the position I'm in currently with my Strands of FATE pulp game over IRC. The player in question ragequit from #rpgnet and all associated IRC games, and his character in the aforementioned game has pretty much risen to the position of leader.

I'd really hate to write out the character, and it's an awkward time in the adventure to do so anyway. Nor do I care to NPC him -- that would be a lot of work for me. I'm trying to talk someone else into running the character, but no luck so far...

So, anyone have any wisdom to lay on me here?

Dude, this is a guiltless freebie!  Kill the character off in the most gruesome and offensive way in order to galvanize the other player characters.

Quote from: Drohem;540366Dude, this is a guiltless freebie!  Kill the character off in the most gruesome and offensive way in order to galvanize the other player characters.

Heh.  Yeah, true enough, except that something like that would be rather jarring to the two-fisted pulp sensibilities of the game, not to mention being a downer for everyone involved.

Well, I don't know anything about your game so perhaps my suggestion doesn't fit.  However, I don't see how killing off the character of the player that ragequit your game would be a downer for the other players.

I will say that if it's unexpected to your type of game, then perhaps it is a good thing.  One's true character may be revealed out of a tragic experience, and perhaps the death of the team leader would be a way to reinvigorate the game and take in a new and fresh direction.

Quote from: Drohem;540380Well, I don't know anything about your game so perhaps my suggestion doesn't fit.  However, I don't see how killing off the character of the player that ragequit your game would be a downer for the other players.

I will say that if it's unexpected to your type of game, then perhaps it is a good thing.  One's true character may be revealed out of a tragic experience, and perhaps the death of the team leader would be a way to reinvigorate the game and take in a new and fresh direction.

There is something to that. I'll have to ponder that.

I should explain that he didn't ragequit my game so much as ragequit #rpgnet IRC chat, and it just so happens that at least one of the people involved in the argument is also in the pulp IRC game.

Quote from: Dan Davenport;540384he didn't ragequit my game so much as ragequit #rpgnet IRC chat

Is there anything good about gaming rpgnet cannot destroy?  

Quote from: CRKrueger;540386Is there anything good about gaming rpgnet cannot destroy?  

Heh.  Well, this is #rpgnet, not RPGnet... They were associated back in the pre-Skotos days, but it's long been disowned and is entirely my baby. Feel free to stop by!

No better adventure hook in the world that character death. If his character was leading the campaign in a majir direction, then the player's absence pretty much kills that route (unless you want to have things revolve around a dmnpc). But his death can open up new directions (unless the other pcs are inclined to just stand there and take no initiative when their party member is mysteriously, brutally, murdered).

Turn that PC into a villain.  Epic betrayal for the win!

Quote from: misterguignol;540392Turn that PC into a villain.  Epic betrayal for the win!

Someone involved in the game pointed out that the current Big Bad mad scientist creates Frakenstein monsters, so maybe the hero in question has been replaced by one...

The actual pulp men's adventure serials of the time had rather a lot more death and brutal violence than the modern day film versions (Indiana Jones, The Shadow, The Mummy, The Rocketeer) that most "pulp" RPGs are actually emulating do.

That said, you want a way to remove the character despite the fact that he's the "star".  What about having him captured and rendered hors d'adventure by the evil villain, thus requiring the rest of the group to rescue him from durance vile?

Quote from: misterguignol;540392Turn that PC into a villain.  Epic betrayal for the win!

That would be my suggestion; if the player comes back, he can then betray the villain, to come back to the team.

Well, moot point. He came back.

Never mind.

It still doesn't solve your bigger problem: what have you done wrong that has made one player the "Star" in the first place, to the point that this player and this player alone is indispensable to your game?

That's a mistake, bub.

RPGPundit

Definitely. But if it happens again I would turn him into a villian which can be killed by the player if he shows up again like earlier suggested.